Add Jason Witten to the list of contract restructures for the Dallas Cowboys.
According to a source, the Cowboys converted $4.56 million of Witten's $5.5 million 2013 base salary into a signing bonus to save roughly $3.65 million against the cap. The Cowboys made a similar move with defensive end DeMarcus Ware on Wednesday, freeing up $4 million in space.
The Cowboys also reworked the deal for left guard Nate Livings, saving roughly $740,000 against the cap, according to a source. Livings was set to make a base salary of $1.7 million this season and will now make $715,000 with the difference between the two turned into signing bonus. In addition, the Cowboys have approached the agents for Jay Ratliff and Orlando Scandrick about restructuring their deals in order to help the Cowboys get under the salary cap by March 12.
The Cowboys are projected roughly $20 million over the cap and needed to rework a number of deals. They could gain even more room by signing Tony Romo, who is set to count $16.8 million against the cap, to an extension.
While the moves free up cap room for the Cowboys in 2013, it increases the cap figures on those players in the future. For instance Ware's cap numbers in 2014 and '15 are now $15.08 million and $16.5 million.
Amid the restructurings, the Cowboys also signed veteran long snapper L.P. LaDouceur to a five-year deal, agent Gil Scott said Thursday. A source said he received a $600,000 signing bonus.